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A former congressman digs into the past for a targeted attack on his rival. The race between U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine's 2nd District and former Rep. Bruce Poliquin has been marked in part by the lack of public debate over gun policy, a major issue in their 2018 campaign. But it is still going on if you happen to catch them in front of the right crowds.

Poliquin, a Republican, took an aggressive tack at a Saturday hunters breakfast in Old Town that was also attended by Golden. His campaign handed out flyers to attendees that laid out the former congressman's 2nd Amendment stances on one side and attacked the Democrat's record on the other.

That side is where things get interesting. First, it highlights Golden's "D" rating by the National Rifle Association while he was in the Legislature, even though the NRA now gives Golden a B after he broke with his party on gun-control issues in Congress. It then hits Golden for backing a bipartisan gun, school safety and mental health bill that Sen. Susan Collins and the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine had input on, saying it pushes "red flag" bills.

The measure will provide funding to states that have red flag laws, which allow police to seize guns from people in mental health crises. The sportsman's group opposed a Maine red flag law that was negotiated into a "yellow flag" compromise that would also get funding under the law. Poliquin lined up with the NRA and House Republican leaders to oppose that measure. Golden voted against a national red flag law, however.

Poliquin's campaign goes deeper into the past to dig at Golden's record in the Maine Legislature, including his 2015 vote against the law allowing people to carry concealed handguns without a permit. It also seizes on two comments that Golden made on video during his 2018 Democratic primary for the 2nd District, when he embraced universal background checks and noted his past vote for the Legislature to consider a bill banning large magazines in Maine.

The flyer, however, says Golden "supports" universal background checks and "helped legislation advance banning gun magazines. In his current role, the congressman has repeatedly voted against universal background checks and also opposed a ban on so-called "assault" weapons that also would have limited magazines. The magazine bill also did not advance in the Maine Legislature in 2018 after an evenly divided panel of Republicans and Democrats split on allowing it to be considered after a key deadline.

It is clear that Golden has tacked on gun issues since his tenure in state politics. But these tactics are similar to something his side deployed in 2018. After Poliquin was endorsed by gun-rights groups in that race, Golden's campaign ran an ad juxtaposing a statement from the Republican saying he never supported expanded background checks with a 2010 gubernatorial debate remark in which Poliquin said he backed mandatory checks.

Despite the flyer's tense issues, Poliquin strategist Brent Littlefield said the campaign was citing Golden's own words. Golden strategist Bobby Reynolds called the flyer "craven" and said Poliquin's "desperate desire to win at all costs can be summed up in one word: Pitiful."

What we have here is two candidates with similar congressional records on guns fighting over some of the same ground in a toss-up race that also includes independent Tiffany Bond. Unlike when they backed Poliquin in 2018, the NRA and Sportsman's Alliance of Maine have stayed out of this race. It has made it harder for Poliquin to define his opponent this time around and it explains why he is digging back into the past.

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